Artificial log fire burner



July 3, 1962 R. H. PETERSON ARTIFICIAL LOG FIRE BURNER Filed May 6, 1960 INVENTOR. P055197 6 P6727950 United States Patent 3,042,109 ARTIFICIAL LOG FIRE BURNER Robert H. Peterson, Altadena, Califi, assignor to Robert H. Peterson C0., Pasadena, Calif., a corporation of California Filed May 6, 1960, Ser. No. 27,350 8 Ciaims. ((31. 158-413) The present invention relates to gas burners in general and more particularly to an artificial fireplace burner adapted to cooperate with artificial hearth logs in simulating a real log fire.

The fireplace with its log fire is generally accepted as a desirable part of the American home and during the winter season is frequently the Center of interest about which the family gathers. The sputter and crackle of real logs upon a fire and the friendly yellow flames are admittedly desirable but, as is so frequently the case with something desirable, it brings with it less desirable problems, including difficulty in lighting at times, the necessity of bringing in of wood from the outside during inclement weather, the disposal of ashes, and the creation of smoke.

In an effort to obtain the accepted pleasures and advantages of a real log fire without its attendant disadvantages, attention has been given to artificial fires making use of gas burners and artificial logs. Such artificial fires eliminate certain of the undesirable problems characteristic of the real fire but also lacked its realistic attributes in that blue pencils of flame did not serve adequately to replace the sheets of yellow flame of the real fire and in that the distribution of the fire frequently was not realistic.

It is with an appreciation of the desirable attributes of real log fires and with an intent to simulate those attributes without the attendant natural disadvantages that the present invention has been made. The burner constructed in accordance with the present invention is so made that individual pencils of flame are eliminated and instead spaced sheets of flame, the yellowness of which can be controlled as desired, are provided. Additionally, means are provided by which colored crystals, aro matic wood oil and other materials and chemicals can be positioned as to make the resulting fire more realistic in color, in odor and in sound.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved realistic, artificial fireplace burner assembly.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved burner assembly adapted to be mounted in a fireplace grate and to produce spaced sheets of yellow flame which may be directed against or around artificial logs as determined by their arrangement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved fireplace burner assembly incorporating improved and simplified mounting means and flame-controlling means.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawing.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated:

FIGURE 1 comprises a side elevational view of a grate carrying artificial logs and provided with a fire created by the burner constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view upon the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal view through the burner assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention, being taken upon the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

3,042,109 Patented July 3, 1962 FIGURE 4 is a vertical section upon the plane of the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial longitudinal section upon the line 55 of FIGURE 3 and illustrates the flame control unit; and

FIGURE 6 is a section looking in the direction of the arrows upon the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5.

Referring now again to the drawing, there is illustrated in FIGURE 1 an open-ended grate 1 suitably supported above the floor of the fireplace upon spaced legs 2. The body of the grate is open-ended and formed of integral side walls 3 and a bottom 4, each of the walls and the bottom having parallel, spaced bars 5 permitting free flow of air.

The burner proper 6 extends along and immediately above the bottom plate 4 and comprises a. hollow metallic pipe or conduit capped at one end 7 and connected at its opposite end by means which will be described to a pipe 8 which is itself connected to a manually controlled valve 9 in the line of an inlet pipe 11.

As is seen in FIGURE 1, however, pipe 6 extends lon gitudinally along the bottom of the grate 1 being supported above it by means of spaced U-shaped brackets 13 the opposite ends 14 of which are formed with openings 16 sized closely to enclose the pipe. The base of each bracket 13 between its ends 14 is slotted at 17 and adjustably seats a clamp comprising a threaded bolt 18, the shank of which extends through slot 17, and which carries an L-sectioned clamping element 19 retained in place by a wing nut 21. As is shown in FIGURE 3, the element 19 is adapted to underlie a cross member 5 of the grate bottom plate 4 and to clamp the bracket 13 against the upper side thereof as a wing nut 21 is tightened upon the bolt 18. The brackets 13 are positioned near the opposite ends of the pipe 6 in the grate 1 and a pair of the clamps are capable of performing the necessary re taining and positioning functions.

Positioned immediately above pipe 6, which is formed along its upper surface with spaced burner ports 22 is a metallic flame interceptor 23 called a cushion. In the form illustrated, element 23 is V-sectioned with its angle directed downwardly, but it is to be understood that it may have other shapes so long as it is positioned centrally above pipe 6 and is in alignment with the ports 22. Cushion 23 is positioned by the bracket 13, the inner legs 14 of which in each instance are V-shaped at their upper ends to seat the cushion and the outer legs 14 of which are narrowed to form upwardly extending central fingers 24 which are bent slightly inwardly, as shown in FIGURE 3, to prevent upward displacement of the cushion and to hold it against the V-seats formed by the two inner legs 14.

The flow of gas to the burner pipe 6 is under the con trol of the common valve 9 in the inlet line but the mixture of gas and air and the resulting color of the flame are controlled by an adjustment generally indicated by the reference character 25 which is shown in cross-section and in detail in FIGURE 5.

An injector 26 connects the pipe 6 to the incoming pipe 8 and includes an enlarged interiorly threaded end 27 seated upon the threaded end of pipe 6, and a small exteriorly threaded end 28 into the counterbored end of which extends the enlarged shouldered end of pipe 8 which is clamped in sealed relationship by a surrounding interiorly threaded socket 29 seated on end 28. The connecting web between the enlarged end 27 and the reduced end 28 of ejector 26 is indicated by the reference character 31 and is formed with a plurality of circularly arranged air openings 32 about the central conduit or port 33 which extends between the enlarged end 27 and the small end 28 and through which the entering gas passes on its way from the pipe 8 into the burner pipe 6. An

injector action takes place in that upon the flow of gas into pipe 6 from reduced conduit 33 air is drawn from the ambient into pipe 6 through openings 32. The volume of air entering is controlled by the adjustment of a flat-sided interiorly threaded nut member 34, shown most clearly in FIGURES 3 and which is adapted to be spaced closely adjacent, in contact with, or spaced from the enlarged end 27 of injector 26, to close to varying degrees the openings 32.

The operation of the burner unit constructed in accordance with the present invention is as follows.

The burner being positioned within the grate 1 and secured by the cross members 5 at the bottom 4 by the clamping means as described, the logs, illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, are then positioned. These logs, bearing the reference characters L1, L21, -L3 and L4, are artificial logs and are centrally hollowed out as to give the appearance of being partially burned. They are preferably arranged wtih the larger logs L1 and L4 spaced in grate 1 upon opposite sides of the burner unit, as shown in FIGURE 2, and with the smaller logs L3 and extended angularly thereacross as to leave openings for the emergence of the flames. The exact arrangement and number of logs is not of the essence and the described arrangement is only illustrative.

With the burner unit and the logs positioned in the grate, the operator opens the valve 9 to permit the flow of gas into the burner pipe 6 from which it emerges through the ports 22 and, upon being lighted, creates a flame which is immediately divided by the cushion 26 into two spaced parallel sheets of flames upon its opposite sides. 'I hese flames rise upwardly and upon contacting the transversely angularly extending upper logs I3 and L2 emerge therebetween and therearound, in a manner having no particrular prearranged design but which greatly resembles a real fire.

The color of the flame depends upon the mixture of the gas and air and this is controlled by the operator through adjustment of the injector adjustment nut 34. By adjusting that nut by threading it on the reduced portion 28 of injector 26 toward the air ports 32 the volume of air drawn into the burner pipe 6 is reduced and with this reduction the yellowness of the flame is increased. By properly selecting the adjustment of the nut 64 the coloring of the flame for realistic results is obtained.

The cushion 23, being V-sectioned, provides an upwardly opening receptacle into which may be placed colored crystals, aromatic wood oil and various chemicals suitable for the production of pleasant odors, crackling, and other eflects as desired. Additionally, the realistic effect of the unit is enhanced by placing some real log ashes around the base of the grate.

While the particular artificial log fire burner herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a fireplace burner unit of the type adapted to be rigidly mounted in a foraminous grate and connected to a source of combustible gas, an elongated burner pipe having radial ports extending through its upwardly facing side wall, a flame interceptor positioned closely above said burner pipe and arranged to divide flames from said ports into parallel sheets, bracket means to clamp said burner pipe to a grate and including deformable means cooperable with said burner pipe in supporting said flame interceptor immediately above said burner pipe, and a manually adjustable injector adapted to be connected between a gas source and the inlet end of said burner pipe to vary the ratio of incoming gas and air to control the color of the flame.

'2. In a fireplace burner unit of the type adapted to be mounted in a foraminous grate and connected to a source of combustible gas, an elongated burner pipe having spaced ports along its upper surface, spaced bracket means comprising U-shaped members having ends seating said pipe and extended thereabove, said bracket means including a plurality of seats above said pipe, a flame interceptor positioned above said burner pipe and arranged to divide flames from said ports into parallel sheets, said interceptor being supported on said seats of said bracket means, and a manually adjustable injector adapted to be connected between a gas source and the inlet end of said burner pipe to vary the ratio of incoming gas and air to control the color of the flame.

3. In a fireplace burner unit of the type adapted to be mounted in a foraminous grate and connected to a source of combustible gas, an elongated burner pipe having spaced ports along its upper surface, spaced bracket means comprising U-shaped members having ends embracing and seating said pipe, at least one end of each bracket means including a deformable element above said pipe, a flame interceptor positioned above said burner pipe and arranged to divide flames from said ports into parallel sheets, said interceptor being carried by said bracket means above said pipe and held assembled thereto by said deformable elements, and a manually adjustable injector adapted to be connected between a gas source and the inlet end of said burner pipe to vary the ratio of incoming gas and air to control the color of the flame.

4. In a fireplace burner unit of the type adapted to be mounted in a foraminous grate and connected to a source of combustible gas, an elongated burner pipe having spaced ports along its upper surface, a V-sectioned flame interceptor positioned above said burner pipe and arranged to divide flames from said ports into parallel sheets, bracket means to secure said pipe to a grate and including V-shaped seats positioned above said burner pipe to receive and seat said V-sectioned flame interceptor and deformable elements on said bracket means and extended into the opposite ends of said interceptor to retain said interceptor on said V-shaped seats, and a manually adjustable injector adapted to be connected between a gas source and the inlet end of said burner pipe to vary the ratio of incoming gas and air to control the color of the flame.

5. In a fireplace burner unit of the type adapted to be mounted in a foraminous grate and connected to a source of combustible gas, an elongated burner pipe having spaced ports along its upper surface, a V-sectioned flame interceptor positioned above said burner pipe and arranged to divide flames from said ports into parallel sheets, bracket means to secure saip pipe to a grate and including V-shaped seats positioned above said pipe to receive and seat said V-sectioned flame interceptor and deformable elements extended into the opposite ends of said interceptor to retain it on said seats, and an injector to control the flow of air into the combustible gas adapted to enter said burner pipe from a source of combustible gas, said injector comprising a connector threaded interiorly at one end and seating the end of said burner pipe, and threaded exteriorly at its opposite end and adapted to seat there an interiorly threaded gland element adapted to enclose the adjacent end of a gas source pipe, said injector also including ports to the ambient between its ends, and a threaded nut seated on its exteriorly threaded end and movable toward and from said ports to vary the flow of air therethrough.

6. A fireplace gas burner assembly comprising an elongated burner pipe of circular cross-section provided at its fuel inlet end with an adjustable primary air control regulator, clamping bracket means secured to spaced points along said gas burner pipe for securing the gas burner assembly detachably to a fireplace grate, flame spreader clamping elements on said clamping bracket means, a plurality of fuel and primary air outlet ports distributed along said burner pipe, and flame spreader means mounted in close proximity to said burner pipe and secured in assembled position by said flame spreader clamping elements with said flame spreader means in the path of the fuel and air mixture issuing from said ports and effective to spread said mixture into sheet-like flames lying in planes extending lengthwise of said burner pipe.

7. A gas burner as defined in claim 6 characterized in that said flame spreader means includes a pair of generally flat surfaces which converge downwardly to a long apex positioned in closely-spaced relation to the upper edge of said gas burner pipe, said apex being positioned to be effective to divert gas and air issuing from said ports outwardly and upwardly in two substantially equal quantities.

8. A gas burner as defined in claim 7 characterized in that said flame spreader means is formed of one piece and is of V-shape in cross-section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 808,513 Cox Dec. 26, 1905 1,041,863 Oehlke Oct. 22, 1912 1,340,226 lgou May 18, 1920 1,437,524 Lee Dec. 5, 1922 2,297,856 Ames Oct. 6, 1942 2,762,362 Nielsen Sept. 11, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 18,688 Great Britain 1912 810,291 Germany Aug. 9, 19 51 

